Improvement in hay-knives



G. W. PARSONS & W. S. FINN'EY.

Improvement in Hay-Knives.

N0.12 9,247. Patented July 16,1872! Inventor.

Witnesses.

less resistance.

UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

GEORGE W. PARSONS AND WILLIAM S. FINNEY, OF HARRISBURG, PA.

iMPROVEMENT lhl HAv-KN lvESa Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. 129,247, dated July 16,1872.

Specification describing certain Improvements in Hay-Knives, invented byGEO. W. PARSONS and WM. S. FINNEY, of Harrisburg, in the county ofDauphin, State of Pennsylvania.

Our invention relates to a knife for cutting hay or straw in mows,stacks, or ricks, &c., commonly called a hay-knife; and it consists,

' first, of the construction of a hay-knife of bifurcated form of thecutting-edges, with the steel blades in two sections; second, of theplan for securing the shank in the head on which the blades are fastenedby forcing the metal of the head into notches in the shank; third, ofthe combination of a square shank with a handle adjustable verticallyfourth, of the adjustability of the upper handle.

Figure l is a view of the knife complete. Fig. 2 is a reverse view ofthe head. Fig. 3 is a view of the lower end of the shank. Figs. 4 and 5are views of different adjustments of the-handles. Fig. 6 is a view ofthe form of the head when the blade is one piece.

A is the shank, made of iron or steel, square, and provided with notchesf for securing the shank in the head. The ordinary iron or steel, inbars, is used, being simply cut to proper length and notched. B is thehead, (or socket,) made with flange projections suitable for attachingand securing the steel blades 0, and made with an open slot or mortiseto fit and receive the shank A. The more common form in which the socketof hay-knives has been made hitherto is to surround that portion of theshank within it on all sides. Ours differs in surrounding the shank ononly two sides, leaving the socket flush with the shank on two sides.This makes the thickness of the knife less, so that it passes into thecut made by the blades with The head is secured on the shank A byhammering or beating a portion of the head (it being made of malleablecastiron or any other malleable metal) contiguous to the notches f, sothat the metal of the head at these points will be swaged and forcedinto the notches f. This method of fastening the head on the shank isvery permanent and secure, and also expeditious and cheap. The

head may also be fastened on the shank A by.

the end of the shank being made pointed and fitted into a recess, r, atlower end of the mortise in the head B, and a rivet or screw through theshank and upper part of the head at g. G and G are the steel blades,made in two sections, exactly coinciding at the ends, to form a forkedcutting-edge. One of the blades is permanently attached by rivets, andthe other is secured by screws, so that it can be removed whensharpening is necessary or the knife is used for pruning. By removingone blade both of them may be properly ground their entire lengthwithout injury to either edge, and thus it is practicable to make theangle of the cutting-edges more acute than in any forked knife withsolid blade, and therefore the knife will be easier of operation. Theknife can also be made on our plan with the steel blade in one straightpiece and set obliquely, as shown in Fig. 6. Dis the lower handle, madeso as to slide on the shank A, and projecting at right angle to the cutmade by the knife, and adjustable up and down, being secured at anydesired point by the gibbed wedge H. E is the upper handle, made to goon the shank, and projecting obliquely to the cut of the knife, eitherobliquely to the right, as shown in Fig. 4, or obliquely to the left, asshown in Fig. 5. I

By making the upper handle adjustable the knife can be used with equalfacility by either right-handed or left-handed men, the upper handlebeing simply adjusted obliquely, as may be required to suit theoperator.

We are aware that hay-knives with a forked cutting-edge are not new, andthat handles adjustable vertically have been used; but we are not awareof forked knives being made with blades in sections, in the manner shownand described; nor are we aware ofhay-knives being made with adjustablehandles on a square shank, as shown and described.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination, in a hay-knife with a bifurcated cutting-edge, ofthe malleable cast 3. The handle E, adjustable obliquely, in

socket B and the cutting-blade composed of combination with the shank A,as shown and two sections, 0 0, attached and arranged in the mannerdescribed.

2. The malleable cast socket B, formed with the open slot, incombination with the square shank A, when the said shank and open slotare flush on their front and rear surfaces sub stantially as set forth.

described.

GEO. W. PARSONS.

W. s. FINNEY.

Witnesses Onns. J AMESON, C. L. HERMAN.

